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Call it a little unexpected gift for Rumson-Fair Haven area residents — and many more.

Just when you thought it was closed for a few weeks that many dreaded, the Oceanic Bridge will be open for the weekend.

Why the unexpected respite from complete closure? Monmouth County officials explained it in the following press release:

“Since 6 a.m. Tuesday morning, around the clock work to repair bearings on the north side of the Oceanic Bridge (S-31) has been under way; the work has progressed on schedule and will be shifting to the south side at 6 a.m. on Monday, June 1.

‘This affords us a unique opportunity to open the Oceanic Bridge to traffic on Saturday evening, May 30, and all day and night Sunday, May 31,’ said Freeholder Thomas A. Arnone, liaison to the Department of Public Works and Engineering. ‘I have spoken with our contractor, Harms Construction, who anticipates shifting the repair operation to the other side of the bridge late Saturday afternoon; we have agreed to open the bridge to all traffic by Saturday evening.’

Harms Construction Co. Inc. of Howell will resume work at 6 a.m. Monday, June 1 on the south side of the structure that spans the Navesink River and connects Rumson to Middletown. Harms crews will be working 24 hours a day, in two 12-hour shifts, to have the work completed by June 12.

The Oceanic Bridge has been closed to all but marine traffic since 6 a.m. Tuesday, May 26. For marine traffic, seasonal rules and scheduling are in effect.

‘A previous Oceanic Bridge repair project revealed deterioration in two areas not readily or previously accessible,’ said Arnone. ‘Two of the bridge’s four main bearings support the bascule and flanking spans on the bridge approaches.’

Ettore explained that the nature of the repair work requires that the bridge load be relieved by lifting the bascule and approach spans off of each bearing and that the bearing work must be completed to maintain public safety and the use of the Oceanic Bridge.

‘It is prudent to lift the bridge spans and perform the repairs to all four of the bearings,’ said Ettore. ‘The bearings in need of immediate repair are on the eastern side of the bridge, but the County is also going to repair the bearings on the western side of the bridge.’

The 2,712-foot drawbridge crosses the Navesink River and serves beach, commercial and residential traffic, as well as pedestrian and bicycle travel. It is also a key route for coastal evacuations and emergency vehicles headed to hospitals or providing mutual aid. The bridge has been classified as structurally deficient.

Built in 1939, the Oceanic Bridge has deteriorated due to decades of exposure to saltwater and from accommodating heavier vehicles and traffic volumes than for which it was designed.

In 2012, Monmouth County completed extensive work to rehabilitate the bridge’s 100-foot, center bascule span, allowing motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians to continue use of the bridge.

Monmouth County received notification from the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority (NJTPA) Board of Trustees in January that $600,000 in federal funding was available to perform a Concept Development Study for the replacement or rehabilitation of the Oceanic Bridge.

‘As the years have gone on, maintaining this bridge has become more costly and difficult,’ said Arnone, a NJTPA Board member. ‘This grant will allow us to look to the future and take steps toward building a better bridge, one that will stand up to the extreme coastal storms we’ll face and serve our modern travel needs.’

Monmouth County plans to replace the Oceanic Bridge in the next ten years.

And, while people have been begging to know an opening date, he finally announced it would be June 1 and added a photo that officially signifies the finishing touches precursor to opening — the pastel Adirondack chairs loaded in a truck, all set to go back home to the townie chatting spot in front of the market.

Loyal longtime customers are doing a bit of online drooling over their favorites’ comeback, such as the chicken salad and corn chowder. And Stout has said they will return, as will all the classic breakfast sandwiches.

The lobster salad is another favorite, but Stout has not yet said whether or not that will be back.

One thing’s for sure: the longtime patrons will be back en masse. They are counting the hours until the doors open at this point.

• It’s that time again. Time to hit the Red Bank Farmers Market in the Galleria parking lot from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The market features the usual locally-grown produce, crafters, baked goods, coffee, Cinnamon Snail vegan food truck and more;

• And if you want to spend some time by the water and take in a little history, there are tours of the historic Seabrook-Wilson House, otherwise known as The Spy House, over at Bayshore Waterfront Park in Middletown’s Port Monmouth section from 1 to 4 p.m.

They’re standard procedures at Viola L. Sickles and Knollwood schools in Fair Haven, but especially so when the students and staff are commemorating Earth Day — the day earmarked to honor the environment.

Fair Haven students were asked to reuse and recycle by donating their used books to the Book Recycling Project at Sickles School and the Student Council Book Drive at Knollwood School.

The Fair Haven Knollwood School grads have always been a styling, close-knit crew — a crew of cohorts that’s always shared many Kodak moments, in pairs, trios, cliques and all together.

Just as photography has evolved from Brownie camera to Instamatic to Polaroid, to phone camera, to full-on professional photo shoots, graduation photo ops have devolved back to single inspired family front lawn shots. That’s where the photo blitz usually began. Now it’s where it ends, too. So, some things never really change — much.

It’s an unprecedented graduation time in Rumson and Fair Haven this year. These pandemic days, in Fair Haven, eighth grade students are being met with a diploma, Superintendent Sean McNeil, Knollwood School Principal Amy Romano and a mini front-yard graduation snapshot in time and ceremony. It started this week.

While eighth grade graduations have taken place in various venues over the years, from what was Willow Street School (now Viola L. Sickles School) to Knollwood and then to Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School, there’s never yet been a front lawn march to Pomp and Circumstance. Yet, this year’s comes close.

So, in honor of the eighth grade students graduating Knollwood School’s Class of 2020, we take a look back in a reprise of an eighth grade graduation post from June 18, 2018, featuring the Class of 1946.